To blog or not to blog – it really wasn’t a question. Since I have enjoyed ranting about Social Media and the impact of technologies on our business for more than a year, it is about time I plunge into the blogosphere. My day job is to manage a large organization inside of a huge corporation. This involves motivating teams, generating new ideas, breaking down road blocks, providing resources, balancing budgets, using a lot of acronyms, and refereeing disagreements. My daughter thinks I sit in my office, eat Skittles, and talk on the phone all day. Some may agree that she is wise beyond her years.

In my personal life I am the mom of a beautiful 8-year old girl and the partner of 15 years to my daughter’s other mom. While some may think we have a non-traditional family, we are a whole lot like every other family in our neighborhood. We have the same time and balance challenges, the same school, church and community decisions, the “you planned what for our weekend?” opportunities, and similar financial matters. In my blog time, I hope to share some of the similarities and differences across traditional and nontraditional families.

I was raised in rural Cajun country of south central Louisiana. My family was unique, and since my mom may read this, I will leave the commentary right there. Any discussion of money or finances was negative. So, in my youth I saw money as a problem, an obstacle, something you can never have enough of. I worked my way through college and graduate school by holding many jobs at once and I managed to get out of college with $10,000 in debt on a Visa card. Not too bad. However, even though I had a Master’s degree, I knew nothing about money or saving.

My first job leading a marketing department at a small bank offered me an opportunity to start learning about finances – really about how to help our customers, not so much what I should do personally. I have always been conscientious, so I have always had a budget; but I did not have a financial plan until 2005. Yes, it was not until just before I got licensed to offer financial advice did I have my own house in order. Today I have a pair of terrific FAs, I have a lawyer that helps to keep our legal documents solid and we know where we stand financially.

In blogs out ahead I will talk about the legal matters faced by a nontraditional family such as mine, as well as the unique impact of longer life expectancies on a household headed by two women, and a few personal stories to share a different perspective. I hope to start some dialogue and hope you will join me in this new adventure.

About Renee Brown

Renee Brown is the Senior Vice President and Enterprise Social Media Leader for Wells Fargo. She looks forward to bringing her unique perspective to Beyond Today, addressing the challenges non-traditional families face, as well as the issues that bind us all.

Renee, You pulled me into your story and can’t wait to read more. You also pointed out to me that I need to sit down with my family and work on a revised financial plan now that we’ve taken on responsibility for my mother-in who has Alzheimer.
By the way, your daughter is adorable!
Peggy Sue is a Wells Fargo employee.

I am a Wells Fargo employee. Keith and I have had a detailed envision plan for 10 years and I can’t wait to follow your journey to see our similarities and also what I can learn from your experience. Awesome debut!

Nay — Congrats on the blog. As I’ve told you many times, I always knew, from the moment I met you, you would do great things. Not only do you have an incredible family, you’ve excelled in your profession! Keep it up and I can’t wait to read more!

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